In France this day, celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Commune de Paris are wrapping up.
The Commune, a brief but world-historical uprising of Paris's working class, still rankles conservatives today.
The Commune, a brief but world-historical uprising of Paris's working class, still rankles conservatives today.
It was triggered by the trauma of the four-month Siege of Paris, Bismarck's campaign to cripple the city, throughout which the working class had been corralled into a single arrondissement to starve to death.
To make the wealthy's meat palatable, Parisian chefs experimented with fancy dishes like pâté de rat; stuffed donkey’s head with sardines; broth of elephant; and kangaroo stew.
Working-class people ate rats, cats, and dogs to survive, while the wealthy ate horses and mules and animals they took from the zoo—including camels, zebras, antelopes, and ostriches.
Paris's chefs served meat cooked in burgundy, tomato puree, pepper sauce, truffle sauce, béarnaise sauce, and sauce chasseur (hunter’s sauce).
Without money for bistros, the working class had to settle for boiled, fried or baked rat, cat, and dog. No wonder they rebelled, once Bismarck's siege ended.
Like all of Paris's poodles, the Commune came to a terrible end.
After a two-month reign over Paris, the Commune was crushed by soldiers rushed from Versaillais.
They killed over 70,000 workers in the streets, executed another 30,000, and burned down a third of the city.
So much for socialism.
But at least we have béarnaise sauce.
POSTSCRIPT: Learn how artists depicted the Paris Commune here.
HAT TIP: Thanks to historian and gourmand Ann Ramsey for inspiring this post.
